11 Facts About Malaria

1. At the end of 2004, some 3.2 billion people lived in areas at risk of malaria transmission in 107 countries and territories, including parts of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Central and South America, Hispaniola, and Oceania.
2. Between 350 and 500 million clinical episodes of malaria occur every year.
3. At least one million deaths occur every year due to malaria.
4. About 60% of the cases of malaria worldwide and more than 80% of the malaria deaths worldwide occur in Africa south of the Sahara.
5. It costs Africa $12 billion annually in lost productivity and eats up 40% of hospital expenditures, stalling economic and social development.
6. Malaria kills more African children than any other disease.
7. People who have little or no immunity to malaria, such as children and pregnant women, are more likely to become severely ill and die if bitten by an infected mosquito.
8. Children who survive episodes of severe malaria may develop learning impairments and brain damage.
9. People subjected to frequent malaria infections (such as young children and pregnant women in high transmission areas) can develop anemia due to frequent destruction of the red blood cells by the malaria parasites. Severely anemic patients might receive blood transfusions which, in developing countries, can expose them to HIV and other blood born diseases.
10. In developing countries, the harmful effects of malaria may combine with those of other highly prevalent diseases and conditions, such as malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, and anemia of all causes. Such combinations can have severe results, especially if they occur repeatedly
11. Since many countries with malaria are already among the poorer nations, the disease maintains a vicious cycle of disease and poverty. The people who can neither afford a bed net for prevention nor access appropriate treatment when they fall sick, are the ones that suffer the most. 

Sources:

2005 World Malaria Report

Millennium Promise

Malaria No More

World Health Organization

Centers for Disease Control  

Science Daily